


Thirteenth Vessel

by SunneDog



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, spoilers incoming!, takes place during KH3D's ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 14:56:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18368354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunneDog/pseuds/SunneDog
Summary: Xehanort's plot unfolds successfully and Lea arrived just one minute too late. Now diving into the heart of the young boy who foiled his other selves' two plots, Xehanort's going to ensure this fresh new vessel does NOT foil his plans again. After all, Sora is such a painfully simple boy - surely his heart must be the same.Alternate title: "Sora Got 'Norted"





	1. Dive

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place during the ending of KH3D, inside the Chamber of Repose.

**"And now the last vessel shall bear my heart like the rest!"**

"No!"  
  
_"Sora!"_  
      
    Xehanort heaved his old, aching body up to stand on his chair. Riku and Mickey leapt up in a desperate attempt to steal his thirteenth vessel but his nobody and heartless made quick work of the both of them. He could hear Riku growling with a frantic anger and Mickey grunting in panic. He raised his keyblade above his head, golden eyes set on Sora. Nothing else mattered in this instant, setting his heart's whole focus on that sleeping boy. He swung his keyblade down, a glowing piece of his heart barreling straight towards his new vessel. In that moment, everyone froze - Mickey watching first with hopeful expectation that slowly turned to horror as the orb phased into Sora's chest uninterrupted. The sleeping boy gasped, his head thrown back as he heaved out breath after breath. It almost felt like everyone in the room could hear his straining heartbeat.  
      
    Xehanort could sense his heart worming its way into his body, wicked grin across his face as he finally claimed his thirteenth vessel; but something was amiss. Memories flashed in Xehanort's mind of when he claimed Terra, that same feeling of feeble resistance. He knew he would be successful in taming this boy's heart and body, he was so much weaker than the rest, but in this precise moment when all his selves were meant to meet he couldn't take any chances.  
      
     _"-Sora!"_ Riku, finally coming to his senses from the first blow to his skull, frantically started pawing and clawing, trying to get out from underneath Ansem's grip. Every pant from the boy contained a hateful hiss, all at once Xehanort's multiple attempts to ruin his life became just as tangible as the twelve cretins surrounding him.  
      
    "Silence, boy." With a hand firmly tangled in Riku's locks, Ansem yanked his head up before slamming it into the ground again. He needn't be gentle with this one's body anymore; after all this failed vessel need no longer be preserved. So long as his heart persisted - _and Ansem was sure it would_ \- their plans for him would succeed. Riku groaned weakly, lifting his hazy eyes up to see that now familiar fractal of color breaking open, Xehanort's keyblade aimed squarely at Sora's heart. His entire body shattered into light and dark, before every shred of him dove straight into the portal before it closed. Sora's body jolted again, the boy coming dangerously close to sliding out of his chair.  
      
    The last thing Xehanort heard was a troubling name cried by the King: _"Axel!"_


	2. Defense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xehanort combats the first and what he assumes to be the only line of defense in Sora's heart.

    The shard of Xehanort's heart meant to lodge itself within Sora was standing on a murky-black plane, heaving breath after weary breath. In that instant his longing for youth tripled - perhaps even _quadrupled_ as he watched the ink-black suit of armor dart around him with lightning speed, keyblade held behind his back in that peculiar way only one boy he knew did.  
      
     _"Ventus,"_ he tried to coo, though the ancient gargle in his voice betrayed him. "Would you really have me destroy you as well, so shortly after you've been found?" His guile seemed to fail him, however, as the armor didn't react in the slightest. Perhaps his heart isn't resting in this boy - but why would his armor be here? Something terribly fascinating was afoot.  
      
    Just as the shadow armor dove for Xehanort, keyblade leveled at the man's throat, the other shards of himself - his primary self - clustered around him, deflecting the attack. Xehanort sighed with a peculiar mix of relief and pleasure as he felt every extra piece seep into him, gifting him his _proper_ strength. A couple blinks was all it took for him to readapt to being that much closer to whole, and he readied his stance once again.  
      
    Eerily soundless, the nightmare armor leapt into another frantic attack, but it did it little good. Xehanort sidestepped and with incredible speed of his own gripped the back of the armor's skull. "Feel familiar?" he hissed, his grip tightening until the armor's visor cracked, the nightmare insignia fading from its face. The armor's limbs rattled, reluctant to admit defeat, before Xehanort applied even more force until an ear-shattering crack was heard, and he tossed the armor aside as if it were trash.  
      
    Xehanort examined his surroundings slowly as the shadows eased off of Sora's heart, though he made sure to will it to remain surrounding them. If he discarded the darkness in Sora's heart entirely, he'd hardly have any sway over him after all. Once he'd firmly seeded himself within he'd be sure to enshroud it completely once more on his way out. It wasn't too difficult the first time.  
      
    The nightmare armor melted off to reveal the young Sora, resting unharmed in its protection. Xehanort raised his brow as the boy sank back into the darkness before the ink-like substance slowly slid off of the platform, revealing Sora's station of awakening and leaving the boy nowhere to be found. Xehanort peered at the stain glass mural of the boy he'd soon take over, noting the overwhelming presence of those he cared about etched so firmly in the image. Fascinating.  
      
    Still, he'd have plenty of time to ponder the peculiarities of this mundane specimen once he was firmly under control. Idly he glanced at the Kingdom Key, lying abandoned by both the armor and its owner. A scoff, and Xehanort lifted his own keyblade, No Name, above his head before aiming it downwards, unlocking the sleeping keyhole within Sora's heart to dive deeper. A flash of darkness and he was gone, and the sleeping Kingdom Key lay abandoned, awaiting its master's return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things start to heat up as Xehanort realizes this task won't be as easy as it should! What else could he find within Sora's heart?


	3. Questions and Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xehanort explores the depths of Sora's heart and finds surprise after surprise within.

    The first thing to hit Xehanort was that familiar salty taste in the air, followed by the soothing sound of waves. His eyes opened slowly to the play island of his childhood - of _both_ their childhoods, he supposed. The shadows he conjured still danced in the sky, making the sunset feel even darker than it would be normally. With the one threat standing in his way vanquished, he dismissed his keyblade and with a pleasant sigh crossed his arms behind his back, turning away from the waves and towards the island of Sora's heart.  
      
    Only a few steps in and a flash of light deposits a young boy in front of him - but when he expected to see some version of the body he's soon to inhabit, he's shocked to see Ventus - no, _Roxas_ \- staring at him with eyes boring through him, as if the intruder were not even there. "So your heart persists," Xehanort murmured to himself, taking another step closer to Roxas, eyeing him up and down curiously. Roxas' head followed Xehanort, but still his eyes stared past him for a moment longer, before he began to speak and suddenly saw the man before him, eyes full of redirected loathing.   
      
     _"What is it that you're so afraid of?"_  
      
    Now this . . . this was curious, indeed. Why would Roxas ask such a question? Admittedly, Xehanort didn't know much about the boy other than his rebellious streak during his time with the old Organization XIII. Was this really Roxas? If not, why would Sora's heart want to know more about him? Why wouldn't it reject him as fiercely as the nightmare armor had?  
      
    The two stared at each other for some time. It became evident that an answer was necessary to proceed, so he took a deep breath and replied: "Dying before I see the birth of the next world." It almost physically hurt to say it, as though he felt his old body creak to move his jaw to speak; even if his body wasn't real right now, his heart felt old. Roxas didn't seem to respond, and Xehanort opened his mouth to supplement his answer in the case his heart required more to go on, but before he could get another sound out a bright light blinded him, and Roxas had moved across the shore, staring out at the sea.  
      
    Xehanort took a couple steps closer before he recognized that green pauldron on his shoulder. "Ventus?" The figure didn't respond, so Xehanort approached slowly. He could understand why Sora would know Roxas - if others were so important to him as to imprint his station of awakening, perhaps they'd imprint the deeper parts of his heart as well - but how could he have known _Ventus?_ He'd only deposited him on this island for a short while, before taking him back once he managed to summon his own keyblade again. _How did he manage to survive, anyway?_  
      
     _"What is the one thing you care about more than anything else?"_  
      
    Xehanort couldn't help but let out a breathy chuckle. One of his pawns now reduced to this, to a ghost of himself residing in this weak boy's heart . . . but _how did he get here?_ Xehanort frowned. More questions he couldn't answer - and he _despised_ questions he could not answer. He needed to know every factor, every minute detail if his plan were to succeed. Judging by Roxas' appearance, Sora and Ventus must have a connection - but how? If Roxas' heart is hiding here, and his asking a question was the result, would that mean Ventus is also here, just beneath the surface? A frown moved to a wicked grin. He needed to know more, and to find out more he'd have to dig deeper.  
      
    The old man cleared his throat before answering with a degree of schadenfreude, "Claiming the _X-blade."_ For a second, it almost seemed like Ventus had some recognition in his eyes. Red crept in from the corners and they started to glaze, like he'd heard the worst news of his life, before another flash of light. He was gone. A young girl was sitting on the Paopu tree nearby. Perhaps the most troubling of the three he's found in here so far. _Just how many hearts were already in this body?_  
      
    The walk towards the girl was slow, and thoughtful. Sora had been chosen by convenience, more than anything else (though perhaps a hint of revenge was owed credit). Yet, here he was handed so much more. Presuming both Roxas and Ventus lived within him, he'd taken captive not just one of their lights but three. He'd need all seven to clash with, but should those out from his grip refuse to fight, he had these boys to torment in their stead. He would have his seven lights, one way or another. This just made everything that much easier.  
      
    The black-haired girl, though . . . He had absolutely no recollection of her, despite her donning the Organization's coat. She did not belong to him, as far as he could tell - _who was this girl?_ His brows furrowed deeply as he stared into her, scanning for any sort of familiarity in his own mind . . . _nothing._  
      
     _"Xehanort,"_ her cold voice broke the silence, shocking the old man. How did she know his name, and how was she lucid enough to recognize him so immediately? Xion's smile faded, and she turned towards him.  
     _"What do you wish?"_  
      
    For the first time since besting the nightmare armor, Xehanort began to worry. He still couldn't puzzle her out, and he started growing frustrated. Maybe she's _that girl_ he cares about. _Wasn't she a redhead?_ That answer felt fake, _wrong,_ too easy. He growled under his breath as Xion watched with a wary frown. Still, she said nothing else.  
      
    "I wish to guide Kingdom Hearts and create the next world," he answered warily. Xion nodded softly, a sadness in her eyes Xehanort could not understand. Like these lifeless fragments of people actually understood what he was talking about, and were expecting answers that were somehow better than his life's work and dedication. _Pah,_ nothing could be better than his grand plan.  
      
    However, that answer seemed to be the key to all this - he felt a swelling in Sora's heart, and knew he had only a brief moment - he called on the darkness he planted here, waved it to encapsulate the island wholly. It seems he was just in time; a flash of light followed by a loud crash. When Xehanort could see again, he witnessed a bright white comet plummet into the sand. Slow and triumphant, he walked towards the crash site and his mouth twisted into a sickening grin.  
      
     _"There he is."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter in particular is what started me writing this fic - the idea of what Sora's heart would look like to someone who was not Riku. This chapter and the next were rewritten a couple times to get it right, a couple different concepts swirling around until I finally understood where exactly I want this fic to go. I wanted Xehanort's answers to Sora's questions to all be basically the same thing; in his age and inhumanity his entire sense of self has been consumed by his desire to claim Kingdom Hearts, and the hearts within Sora are disappointed at these hollow answers. But now the heart hosting them all is here. What will HE have to say?


	4. Sora

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora's immovable heart continues to resist Xehanort's unstoppable ambition; who will win out, in the end?

    Xehanort watched from above like a hawk peering down at its prey. The dust cleared and Sora forced himself to a stand. He, unlike the others in his heart, seemed much more _alive._ His movements were natural, his expressions more nuanced, and Xehanort knew he was facing the true owner of this heart. His steps were deliberate, his intent to be menacing; he need only spear the boy with darkness once more to ensnare him completely.  
  
     Sora had to crane his neck quite a bit to look into Xehanort's eyes, and despite his typically simple exterior he was incredibly difficult to read. Something hid in those ocean blue eyes boring into the intruder, but it was impossible to know _what._ Sora stayed right in his ditch in the sand, waiting patiently for the old man to approach. "Hello, _boy,"_ he all but growls, summoning No Name in one hand, holding the other behind his back as he so often did.  
  
     _"Xe-_ hanort." _Ah,_ there it was. While Sora tried to keep his voice steady, Xehanort could hear the twinge of fear at the start of his name. He grins, quirking a brow at him.  
  
     "Any last words, before your heart and body become mine?"  
  
     _". . . Who do you care for most?"_  
  
     Now this shocked him. Perhaps the questions did not belong to the other denizens of his heart alone. While his quarry was already here, he got the sense this heart would submit more easily with an answer. And he'd gladly give it to get what he wanted: _"Myself."_ After all, there was no one left in Xehanort's life to care for; nothing but pawns in his grand game to move across the board. Whether they fell or survived was emotionally inconsequential to him.  
  
     Sora tilted his head and knit his brows, clearly unsatisfied. 

    _"Who is it you live for?"_  
  
     Xehanort scowled, assuming that this might be some sort of defense mechanism in the boy's heart. He conjured an attempt to fool it: "Truthfully, I care for _Xemnas_ most; I always loved his drive to achieve his goals. I think he'd make a great addition to the new world I intend to create."  
  
     Sora shook his head and crossed his arms, with a look that screamed _'are you serious?'_ Some of that fear eased out of his eyes and straight into Xehanort's. His mouth on the other hand asked,

    _"Who do you wish to protect?"_  
  
     Now Xehanort was starting to get frustrated. If honest answers wouldn't get him anywhere, brute force would once again be his primary tactic. Lifting his keyblade and charging it with darkness, Xehanort slashed it down against Sora's left shoulder aiming towards his right hip - but a bright flash of light deflected it. Once he regained his vision, the old man looked down to see Sora continuing to stare up at him . . . now with another pair of eyes at his side. Ventus, gripping Sora's left hand tightly, stared into Xehanort as well with those same red, puffy, _ready-to-cry_ eyes he had before. He did not speak, but his barrier protecting Sora was palpable.  
  
     _"Who do you wish to protect?"_ Sora repeated - Xehanort retaliated with a fierce shout and another slash, this time at Sora's right side. Another deflection and flash of light - the raven haired girl with weary, disappointed eyes now held Sora's _right_ hand. The three of them had gazes trained on him; Sora's felt _alive_ at least. Ventus and Xion were frozen in time, the feelings Xehanort brought forth in them with his answers frozen on their perfectly still faces.  
  
     _"Who do you wish to protect?"_  
  
     "My- **self!"** he snarled, stabbing directly toward Sora's chest - yet another flash of light, though this deflection felt far more physical. When it faded, he saw his keyblade pointed a few degrees upward; deflected by the young, hateful Roxas, Kingdom Key in hand raised horizontal to protect his other. Again, all their heads turned to face him directly, but the four did not move from their positions even as Xehanort withdrew. "Seems like that must be the last of you," he mused, stepping around and behind Sora. This time, not even Sora turns to look at him, but again he repeats:  
  
     _"Who do you wish to protect?"_  
  
     Xehanort didn't bother answering. Instead, he spears his keyblade up into Sora's back, but is hit with another flash; or rather, a _fade._ Ink black coats Xehanort's vision and the firmest power yet actually propels him back a few feet, forcing the old man's heels to dig into the sand behind him. The first thing Xehanort notices when his vision returns is the blue God's Eye staring at him from the Void Gear . . . then those familiar, amber eyes.  
  
     "Hello _master,"_ Vanitas hissed with malicious delight, slightly crouched as to be located purely within Sora's shadow. Sora seemed to be staying still, and in turn Vanitas had to as well - it seemed the boy was locked in Sora's shadow, but still determined to protect his heart just the same. Sora was surrounded by the hearts he cradled within himself, protected by them just as much as he had protected them for all these years.

    Xehanort planted his keyblade into the ground to help himself stand on the unsteady sand. He felt himself growing distressingly weary, and he then knew that Vanitas was clawing all of Sora's darkness to himself, leaving very little for Xehanort to influence. It takes all of his focus to stop the boy from snatching all of it and forcing him out entirely. With a growl Xehanort turns his heel in the sand, gripping the hilt of his keyblade tight. "I am not going anywhere, despite your stubborn resistance."

  
     _"Good!_ I wouldn't have it any other way," Vanitas taunted in return. _"This heart can be a prison,_ as I'm sure you know."  
  
     The realization hit the old man like a punch in the gut, taking his breath away. Before Xehanort could snap back at his rebellious apprentice, Sora's voice chimed in once more:  
  
     _"Who do you care for most?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise friend/foe? Who can tell what Vantias' goals are? How did he worm his way into Sora's heart, keeping a form tangible enough to TALK to Xehanort? How much can three sleepwalking hearts really do to deter the man? More mysteries unfold in this increasingly complex heart of a steadily simple boy.


	5. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku tries (and fails) to cope with the thought of his best friend falling victim to the same man who victimized him in the past.

    Riku paced back and forth in front of the door to the three good fairies' room in Yen Sid's office; the man himself stroked his beard solemnly in thought while sitting at his desk. Lea moped by the door to the stairwell, and everyone else had gone to rest for the night. Riku came back up to the fairies' door and leaned against the wall just next to it, eyes closed and expression pensive. Red was starting to show through the bandages on his forehead and no one said a word about it.

    He _knew_ Sora was being held in that room. It was locked, and while a simple tap of his keyblade could do the trick, Yen Sid made sure to leave Sora's door guarded at all times. _'Riku is in no state to dive again, he must not be allowed near him.'_ Tension in the tower was oppressive. Riku had lost consciousness after Xehanort dove into Sora's heart, so he didn't know the full story of how they all got back here. Nor was he stable enough to  _receive_ said story, no matter who tried telling him. It always devolved into feral shouting or violence from the boy, so nobody quite got through the whole thing. What he _did_ know was that Lea arrived later than anticipated, something to do with trying to summon a keyblade and _failing_ —and Riku had let the poor man _have it._ The only thing keeping the two from engaging in fatal combat was the news that Sora was still _here,_ just trapped in sleep. Riku's focus redirected towards _getting in that room_ at all costs.

    Thus he stood in Yen Sid's office, hovering around the door to Sora's residence - it _had_ to be Sora's, because it was the only locked door he found - waiting for Yen Sid to relent and let him in. He _had_ to help Sora. The silence weighing the air down was suffocating, and finally Riku broke it once the guilt became too much for him once more.  
  
    "I can dive into -"  
  
    "You **cannot,** Riku," Yen Sid's voice rumbled - he was already waiting for Riku to plead with him _again._ They had been going back and forth like this for hours, ever since Riku first realized Sora was still _here_ and _alive_ and _not with Organization XIII_. "You are in no shape to dive into the Realm of Sleep again, and Sora is in no shape to receive you."  
  
    "If somebody doesn't do _something—!"_  
  
    "There is nothing **any** of us can do," Yen Sid's voice grew louder, firmer. Riku's glare only intensified. "Xehanort has yet to take him fully. What this means, I cannot be sure, but I believe Sora is resisting him with all of his heart-"  
     
    "His _—sleeping_ —heart!" Riku shouted back, slamming his fist against the wall and taking a threatening step closer to Yen Sid. The stress was obvious in the old man's eyes, and Lea watched with such a lifeless expression you'd be forgiven for thinking he was still a nobody. "Xehanort trapped him in a nightmare for _god_ knows how long, and now - now that _monster's_ in his _heart?"_ Trauma flashed in Riku's eyes, and even if he couldn't see it himself he saw that pain reflected in both Yen Sid  _and_ Lea's eyes.

    "I know how hard it is to resist him alone! Sora _can't_ \- Sora doesn't _deserve_ to go through that!" Riku's heart pounded in time with the pain in his skull, and a spell of dizziness hit him, sending him back to crash into the wall. He barely managed to hold himself up.  
  
    _"Riku,"_ Yen Sid said in warning, but the steaming boy didn't need to hear anything else - he brought his hand up to his temples and felt the blood under his fingertips. "Be still." Riku obliged, knowing in truth there was nothing he could do further to defy him. A brisk snap of Yen Sid's fingers and Riku's bandages unraveled, another set _poof_ -ing into existence to wrap itself around his head. Riku sighed in defeat, the used set of bandages vanishing into whatever dimension Yen Sid sent his trash to. Though something wasn't sitting quite right with him - he could've sworn he heard more fabric moving than just his bandages, but . . . he was _exhausted,_ he probably just imagined it.  
  
    Moments later, the fairies' door unlocked.  
  
~  
  
    Every sound in Sora's ears felt like it passed through muddy water to get to him. Voices, _shouting_ \- an argument? Who was arguing, _why?_ An exhausted moan escaped his lips as consciousness came and went as it pleased. He felt terrible, sticky with _sick_ and _sweat_. Every limb felt damn near numb, and breathing alone was strenuous. Perhaps he ought to have slept it off some more, but . . . He _couldn't._ Rest escaped him as he grew hotter and hotter, and finally in a desperate fit he kicked his numb legs up and threw the blanket off himself. _I'm in a bed._ He pried his stuck-together eyelids open and sat up with a heaving sigh. _What happened?_  
  
    Tracing his memory backwards yielded . . . confusing results. He was . . . doing his exam, right? With Riku. _Riku!_ Where was Riku? Sora turned his head to look around, adrenaline starting to pump when he realized Riku wasn't here. The rest of his surroundings hit him next - _The Wizard's Tower,_ yes. _Did they pass the exam?_ No, that didn't sound right. He needed to find Riku, or - Yen Sid or - Mickey. Or _Donald and Goofy!_ Anyone, really. He was all alone in this dark room and he absolutely could not take it anymore. He leaned back before rolling forward, hoisting his weight onto his gelatin-like legs and stumbling a bit as he stood. _Have to find Riku. He could be in danger!_  
  
    By some miracle of determination Sora forced his way to the door, grabbing onto the handle and pressing down with his thumb to unlock it. He forced the door open, though he ended up using the handle to support his weight as he came out of the room, surprised to be met with three pairs of - _horrified? Confused? Relieved?_ It was hard to tell what the room was feeling, but emotions were on high as Riku darted at him, slamming the door behind Sora even harder as he pressed all his weight against his childhood friend. _"Sora!"_ The sudden jolt to Sora's body had his mind reeling, vision swimming, consciousness ready to pass out at any time - but he forced his eyes open again to confirm just who it was pinning him to the door.  
  
    _". . . Riku?"_ he gasped out, eyes rolled back as he almost collapses on himself before Riku grabbed hold of him, almost fully supporting his weight. That's when Sora saw the bandages on Riku's forehead. _"Riku!_ What - What happened?" Sora's voice was painfully hoarse, yet he couldn't will himself to cough; somehow he knew he'd lose his vision from the intensity of it. His arms shook a little, trying to lift up before surrendering and going limp, his entire posture slumping even more into Riku's hold. He forces out an, _"Are you okay?_ " For a second Riku looked into his eyes, and the heartbreak harbored in that beautiful, familiar teal is enough to force Sora to close his own eyes and rest his head against Riku's chest. Staying awake was too much of a trial for him to endure. Sora heard Riku's desperate panting, the frightful drumming of his heart, before finally Riku's breathing stopped - and Sora could hear him take an exceptionally deep breath in through his nose, feeling the movement of air tingle at the roots of his hair. Was Riku . . . _smelling_ him?  
  
    "Just . . . Tell me that's still _you_ in there," Riku finally whispered. Before Sora can answer, his consciousness passed once again, and he fell completely limp in Riku's arms. The last thing to hit his ears was a desperate cry of, "Sora, _please—"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we see just the kind of toll Xehanort's assault on Sora's heart is doing to his body! Will his body recover? What about his self, and his heart? How will Riku start treating Lea, now that he knows Sora isn't just gone for good? What kind of plan could Yen Sid be cooking up in these circumstances?


	6. Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In light of Sora's brief awakening, Yen Sid puts forth a plan of recovery for the two boys.

    Riku was frozen in time, one hand clutching the back of Sora's shirt, the other scooped under his to hold him up. He could hear his dear friend's faint breathing grow steady as he fell back into sleep. Riku stayed perfectly still, and no one dared to stir him.  
      
    They all had seen it. The ghostly white poisoning the roots of Sora's hair (even the rest of it seemed a slight bit more blonde), and even more disturbing was the heterochromia; his right eye remained his normal blue, the other split uneven down the middle, amber and ocean battling for space in one iris. His face was still Sora, and the joy in his eyes at finding his friend (though somewhat weighed down by his exhaustion) made it quite clear that it was Sora still seeing through those eyes. Yen Sid didn't blame Riku for his suspicion of him, however; he knew better than anyone else in that room just what Xehanort's possession looked and felt like. Given how traumatic that must have been, his vicious reaction started to make sense.   
      
    For a while, they all stayed like that; Lea and Yen Sid deep in thought, Riku a distraught blend of terrified and relieved. Eventually Riku heard Lea's voice behind his shoulder, a soft, "Hey," causing him to whip his head around and glare, his grip on Sora tightening defensively. _When did he get there!?_ Lea backed up, hands in the air in surrender. "Hey, _hey,_ calm _down,"_ he started in his normal partly-sarcastic tone, though the sadness in his eyes betrayed him. Softer, "He's obviously sick. Let's get him to a bed, hmm?"  
      
    Riku's eyes squinted . . . he hated that Lea was _right._ With a grunt, he turned away from Lea's hands that offered to help, instead hoisting Sora up bridal style to carry back to his room by himself. Even Yen Sid could see the sweat that formed on Riku's head from the strain, but both men knew the best thing to do was let him have his moment to preserve the peace just a few minutes longer. Lea still followed to make sure Riku didn't attempt a dive, but he also made sure to give the two boys space, hovering by the door uncomfortably.  
      
    Riku had a terribly haughty expression on his face when he went to work; laying Sora down on the bed, fluffing up his pillow before tucking it under his head. He lifted up the blanket haphazardly tossed on the floor - that part most definitely was _Sora,_ as the boy's bed always looked like a disaster area every time Riku'd ever seen it - waved it out, and then laid it on top of Sora, folding the top of the blanket neatly so it didn't cover Sora's face. If Lea didn't know any better, he'd say Riku was dragging this whole process out as long as he could.  
      
    Yen Sid had finally raised from his desk when he heard the distinctive groaning of a chair being dragged across a room. While he didn't want to aggravate Riku any further than Lea's presence surely was, he needed to know what that boy was doing. The former master entered the room to see Riku sitting in a chair dragged over to the foot of Sora's bed, arms crossed and eyes closed. He didn't even open his tired eyes when he shoots Yen Sid a curt, "Sora _needs_ me. I'm staying right here."  
      
    The former master weighed his options carefully. He was worried Riku would take rash action here, yet . . . Already his disposition had calmed significantly. Bitter, perhaps, but not the thrashing ball of aggression he was just minutes ago. He was loathe to admit it, but it was quite possible the young man could defeat anyone in this tower in a one-on-one scenario . . . Of course, it would be more like a reluctant five-on-one, but the odds of success were irrelevant. If confrontation could be avoided, he'd avoid it. Yen Sid stroked his beard, leaving the suspense to hang between Riku, Lea, and Sora's peacefully sleeping form until he finally decided.  
      
    "You will be spending the rest of your bedrest here." Riku smirked, eyes still closed. "Lea, Mickey, Donald and Goofy will take turns keeping watch over both of you." Just as quickly as it came, that smirk vanished. Finally Riku opened his eyes to look at Yen Sid, ready to retort but holding his tongue; the old man still had more to say. "In the meanwhile, so long as your strength permits it, I'd like you to cast Cure spells for Sora. Your injury is too delicate for a rapid recovery, so smaller potions regularly will be your aid. I want your heart to reach out to Sora's, to offer it strength and support in these trying times . . . but you cannot dive in until you are well. You're in no shape to do so and get out with your heart unscathed."  
      
    Riku wasn't exactly happy with all of these terms, but - he looked down at Sora's sleeping form, peaceful lashes held shut as his breath went in and out, _in and out_ ; his chest up and down, _up and down_ in perfect, soothing time. Riku's fury melted away in that instant, and he decided to put his trust in the peace on Sora's face. "Fine." There's almost a laugh at the tail end of that single syllable. Riku stood up, waving a slow hand from around where Sora's ankles ought to be under the covers towards his chest, murmuring a soft edict: _"Heal."_ The green magic emanated from Riku's fingertips, and Sora shuddered in his sleep - he took an even deeper breath in, then out, before returning to his steady pace. Already he looked a little less pale, and a faint smile touched his lips.  
      
    Yen Sid was working magic of his own, waving his hand to beckon a bed into existence - this one perfectly matched Sora's, the head of it three feet from the head of his. Even in sleep, their hearts would be near. Yes . . . _This might just work._ A nightstand was quick to follow, with a drawer full of small potions for him. "Now, Riku. It is time for you to rest. Lea will stand watch over both of you 'til the 'morrow. If fate is in our favor, I'll be delighted to greet all three of you in the morning." He turned his attention to Lea, who was giving him a bit of a sheepish look. "Lea," he states with a curt nod, before turning to walk out of the room.  
      
    Riku and Lea were silent after that, at least for a while. Lea picked up Riku's discarded chair and plopped it right next to the doorway, set up so he could keep an eye on both Sora and Riku. Meanwhile Riku (finally) did as he was told, taking one of the potions from the nightstand and downing it as fast as he could. It tasted terrible, but whatever it'd take to heal himself enough to dive into Sora's heart. He needed to be certain he was okay. Riku gave himself one more moment of staring longingly at his friend before he decided it was best to just rest for the night; his head was still pounding, and as the adrenaline eased off his system he could feel it more and more. Riku slid under his covers, making sure to have his back to Lea, even if it meant sleeping on his side. He'd probably end up rolling onto his back sometime in his sleep, but more than anything he wanted to make his distaste even more clear.  
      
    Lea obviously got the message, rolling his eyes once Riku couldn't see him. _Yes,_ he dropped the ball, he utterly _failed,_ and was probably doing a piss poor job of being a _'good guy.'_ Every little gesture of anger from that kid reminded him of all these things, and it was pretty quickly starting to eat away at him. Having a heart again certainly made things tougher, that's for sure. Still . . . He wouldn't have it any other way. Another deep breath and a nod, and he finally starts: "Hey, I'm sorry that -"  
      
     **"No."** It's almost cruel how quickly Riku interrupted him. "You can apologize to _Sora_ once he's awake long enough to hear it, and well enough to stomach it." Of course he knew Sora would probably forgive him; Lea was showing genuine desire to improve, to do good by them. That didn't mean _Riku_ had to. All that anger and pain started flushing back in, and his face writhes with distress. There was only one solace in that tense moment, the one thing that allowed Riku to finally rest:  
      
    He couldn't smell _Ansem_ anymore, even just this short distance from Sora.  
   


	7. Cure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku nurses Sora back to health.

    Everything started falling into routine at the Mysterious Tower. Every morning Riku would wake up, drink his potion, cast Cure on Sora, sniff the roots of his hair to see if Ansem became any more or less present, and then get his breakfast. Meanwhile, whoever got stuck doing the midnight to morning shift watching Sora and Riku would swap out with whoever had next shift. First in order was Lea, then Mickey, Donald, and finally Goofy, who would then swap with Lea again. Yen Sid was ever present in his office nearby, evidently sleeping in the exact same position as no one saw him leave his desk. He was always trapped deep in thought, paying close attention to the flow of light and dark in his tower, trying to sense if Sora's strength was waxing or waning.  
  
    Even thought Sora continued to sleep for days on end, Riku was far less ballistic; every time he checked Sora, he could see visible improvement. Color was returning to his skin and he no longer heard scratches in his breathing. Most importantly Ansem's stench on Sora seemed to diminish every day. While he was wholly unwilling to leave the tower, convinced that should Sora fall he'd be the _only_ one capable of a rescue, he did have the suggestion for King Mickey to go get Kairi from the Destiny Islands. A Princess of Light was sure to help diminish the darkness leeching on Sora's heart, _right?_ No one was quite sure how to navigate this uncharted territory, but they saw no harm in attempting - and, as Goofy wisely put, she deserved to know about Sora's state too - so the little king took his Gummi Ship along with Donald and Goofy to get her.  
  
    Riku found it strange that Mickey was taking both his guard and magician with him. When questioned, however, the king simply chimed in with a, "We're stopping by Disney Castle on the way. That way Donald can say 'hi' to Daisy!" That still didn't explain _Goofy,_ but Riku let the king's lie slide. He trusted Mickey, after all, he was just curious as to what exactly he planned on doing. Especially given that Donald and Goofy were integral to getting Sora to safety before, Riku was a little reluctant to see them go. However, his faith that Sora would prevail grew stronger every day, so he bid the three farewell, expecting their 'short' trip to might take more time than it had any right to.  
  
    It was just about noon when Mickey's ship left the tower's orbit. That meant it was time for Riku to get himself lunch and then Cure Sora again, per his routine. He was brisk when he stepped through the Mysterious Tower's kitchen - not a soul resided in that room, but there was a decently sized sandwich laying out just for Riku. Mickey had tried to explain once that Yen Sid's magic bid the utensils use themselves to cook, but Riku had a tough time wrapping his mind around it so he decided to just stop questioning it and accept when free food is given to him. He brought his plate up the stairs with him, the trip being much shorter for him going up than it used to be (Yen Sid didn't want Riku getting dizzy and falling while on them, after all). Once he entered Yen Sid's office, he saw the old wizard sitting there with his eyes closed, meditating as he usually did. Lea was leaning against the wall right next to the door to Sora's room; after one too many tense encounters with Riku, he realized it was best to just stay outside and leave the door open. If Sora moved at all, he'd hear it, and that seemed to be all Riku wanted him to notice anyway.  
  
    "Well, looks like I'm on guard full _ti-"_ Riku passed Lea as he spoke, not even batting an eye. Lea sighed, before veering off, _"Look,_ if I'm gonna be stuck here 24/7, do you think you can keep it together long enough for me to get my own food?" Riku grunted dismissively in response, placing his dish on his nightstand before opening its drawer to drink another potion from it. Every time he closed the drawer and opened it again, any potions he'd drunk restocked themselves. Magic was handy that way.  
  
    "You may go, Lea. I will keep watch," Yen Sin spoke softly, eyes still shut. Lea didn't know how exactly Yen Sid was going to watch them with his eyes closed, but he goes on his way anyway. A break from guard-duty isn't exactly what he needed, but a break from _Riku_ certainly was. The kid wasn't outright attacking him anymore, but he just would not let that grudge go; in return, Lea's heart wouldn't let go of that guilt. Sora, _Roxas_ . . . if they never returned, it'd be _his_ fault. Worse was the sensation that he'd be losing _even more_ than that, but he didn't even know exactly what. His thoughts drift to Saix - to _Isa,_ his last living friend. He abandoned him, left him to Organization XIII . . . _No. Isa chose to stay._ His own thoughts were hard to believe. He sulked his way down the stairs towards the kitchen, hoping food would at least get his mind off this.  
  
    Riku, meanwhile, swallowed hard to get the potion down his throat as quickly as possible. _Still disgusting._ He wiped his lip with the back of his hand once finished, tucking the empty bottle into his drawer before turning his attention to Sora. He walked over slowly, as if afraid his steps might disturb him. His hand comes to rest of Sora's forehead, checking his temperature: _lukewarm._ Not the broiling fever he was nursing a few days ago. After a moment of boring a longing stare into his friend's peaceful face, Riku leaned down towards his head, close enough to press his nose against Sora's scalp . . . and he took in a deep, inquisitive breath. He smelt . . . _sweaty,_ of course he was in desperate need of a shower, but that paled in comparison to the nauseating musk of _Ansem_ clinging barely to his skin. He brought his head up only to lower it again, this time pressing his forehead against Sora's, a hand pawing through his _white to blonde to brown_ hair to soothe himself. "Don't worry, Sora," he whispered, "I'll save you from this nightmare. After all," Riku smirked to himself, "I'm what nightmares _fear._ Never forget it."  
      
    Riku closed his eyes contently, and Sora's eyes tightened with a minor consciousness before relaxing into sleep again. Riku ended his moment - a moment not unlike many others he had with Sora when he kicked Lea out of their room with his glares alone. Riku lifted himself back up, taking one more look at Sora before preparing to use his Cure spell once again. This time, however, instead of drawing his hand evenly back and forth above Sora's body, he brought his hand to rest over Sora's heart, placing it directly against his chest. Riku's fingers curled, clutching the fabric of Sora's shirt as he pumped his hand down with a firm, _"Curaga."_  
      
    Sora's steady breath gasped out as the green magic lit up his heart and then his veins, fingers and toes twitching as the magic coursed through him. His breath stilled, and for a moment Riku was afraid - and then just as quickly Sora settled back into sleep . . . and rolled onto his side. Riku smiled at this progress (as Sora had barely moved since he'd woken up that first day) and let out a pleasant hum as he leaned down to check Sora's scent again.  
      
    There wasn't a single hint of Ansem there.  
      
    ~  
      
    With Sora's heart unyielding without an answer to his question, _who do you care for most?,_ Xehanort was getting absolutely nowhere. Even worse, Vanitas' surprise takeover of much of the darkness in Sora's heart had let the boy get a wink of consciousness.  
      
    Sora stared up at the single hole in the sky, surrounded by his four sleeping guardians: Xion, Roxas, Ventus, and Vanitas. Slowly the boy's feet lifted off the sand, his body ascending up towards that single light - the single way out of his heart. Reluctantly, Xion and Ventus let go of his hands, allowing him the vulnerability required to wake. Shadows swirled around in the sky above the play island, but Sora's gaze through the eye of the storm allowed his physical body a few moments in pseudo-consciousness. Xehanort had to act quickly, or else Sora would regain control completely and awaken; even the old keyblade master didn't know what would happen to himself then.  
      
    "Why the scared face, _old man?_ Afraid the kid'll thwart you a third time?" Vanitas' jeering was just the push he needed. Xehanort held his position, aiming No Name directly at the ascending brunette. The light above seemed to open that much wider, making Xehanort's own shadows darker. The boy consumed all of his focus, and with a swift breath shadowy flares exploded from the tip of his keyblade, zipping erratically towards his target. As the shadows converged on Sora, their forms sharpened into arrow-shaped blades, and the first then pierced directly in his chest.  
      
    Sora's hand raised up; another bolt struck. His ascent froze, his raised hand twitching. Another bolt and the light above began to fade. Every following bolt dragged him down further towards the sand, and the farther he fell the more the light faded, until it's finally swallowed by the swirling shadows above.  
      
    Sora landed soft on the ground, some force within his heart slowing his descent once he neared it, now unconscious with the darkness that plagued him. With a gray flash both Xion and Ventus are on him, Ventus holding him in a sat up position while Xion held his face, checking him intently. Of course, both were still frozen, sleeping hearts that they are. Roxas stood between Xehanort and Sora, perfectly still with an angry growl on his face, Kingdom Key held in a battle-ready stance. Vanitas . . . _Where was Vanitas?_  
      
    In an instant No Name was held at Xehanort's side, defending him from a sneak attack from Void Gear. Vanitas was no longer locked in place, the entire island bathed in night. The shadows above began to storm, violent tornadoes touching down against the sea, swallowing up those blue waters and staining them inky black. Purple lightning flashed above as chaos began to rain, the once full-of-light heart stabbed with too many shadows to count.  
      
    A perfect opportunity for Xehanort to take over . . . _If not for that damned apprentice_. Vanitas already waved his free hand, shadowy tornadoes moving in time with his motions, the darkness in Sora's heart more inclined to hate _Xehanort_ than hate Vanitas. After all, Sora didn't know Vanitas on such an intimate level, despite the boy living in his heart so long . . . but he _did_ know Xehanort and how much that man hurt him and his friends, and the shadows in his heart took that pain and amplified it. Vanitas, in turn, gave it direction that it followed with ease.   
      
    Xehanort had hold of enough darkness to sustain himself in Sora's heart, and had enough experience with hearts to keep himself at an even level with Vanitas, but he could not overpower him so easily. The two swiftly broke into an all-out battle.  
      
    Darkness was channeled on both sides, purple lightning obeying Vanitas' commands to strike Xehanort, and Xehanort's No Name fervently deflecting them. Every strike Vanitas launched loaded with the anger and hate in Sora's heart Xehanort both predicted and blocked. The two were locked in stalemate for what they both understood would be a very long time.  
      
    A sleeping heart's sense of time would always be off, but the fighting genuinely felt like days had passed, both men too exhausted to put in their all but simultaneously not willing to give in.  
      
    Then a green light flashed through the dark clouds above, beams aiming down directly at two individuals: Sora and Xehanort. The color kissed Sora's heart, restoring some of the light in him; and simultaneously _smote_ Xehanort, shocking him with a blinding pain that gave Vanitas the opening he needed to strike. The light was short lived, fading just as quickly as it came, but the damage was done, the scales tipped. Vanitas had a firm edge to work with now. The pain rang in Xehanort's ears, along with the foreboding word that echoed through all of Sora's heart: _'Cure.'_  
      
    Vanitas had a new fire in him, a new drive to defeat the man who both created him and ruined the life he lived. He would _pay,_ and Vanitas knew the perfect punishment for him.   
      
    The echoing _'Cure'_ continued to occur at regular intervals, every time boosting Sora's vitality and slashing at Xehanort's will to fight on. Eventually, Xehanort's stubborn determination to finally defeat this _simple boy_ who'd ruined so many of his plans broke. _It was time for a tactical retreat._  
      
   _"Fine,_ Vanitas," Xehanort gasped after trading blows with the apprentice, "You've _won."_ Another heaving exhale, Vanitas making a face no less indignant than he expected. "I'll take my leave now," he coos, aiming his keyblade straight to the sky. With every pulse of that mysterious _'Cure,'_ the sky in Sora's heart grew brighter. At this point, it's a beautiful blue when not covered by murky purple clouds. Still, Xehanort aims at the darkness that remained, ready to reopen the door to Sora's heart and let himself out. He would claim his thirteenth another day, with the knowledge he has gained here. This all would still work, his plan was still perfect, and with one final breath shadows gather around the tip of his keyblade -  
      
     _'Curaga.'_  
      
    The whisper rumbled the entire island like an earthquake, searing pain breaking through Xehanort's body as the shadowy clouds faded away entirely, that beautiful blue being the last thing he sees before -  
      
     **"Sleep!"**   
      
    The hiss came so quickly the old man couldn't even react. Void Gear pierced up into his back, fading from view as it passed into Xehanort's heart. While he couldn't see the blade ripping through his body, he could _feel_ it. His heart keeled with exhaustion, and when Vanitas pulled his blade free and backed up, Xehanort collapsed, his heart consumed by sleep.  
      
    Vanitas stood there, contemplative in his triumph, breath growing heavier and heavier as the lack of shadows to sustain him made him weary, the isle's sky boring into his skin and starting to burn. He needed to find a shadow, _quick,_ somewhere to hide within this heart -   
      
    Said heart had walked right up to him, released by his three guards now that the threat was gone. Content with this, Xion, Roxas, and Ventus faded away into shards of light, back into a more restful state for the three of them now that their nightmare was over. Sora came up to Vanitas, having to tilt his head up ever so slightly to look him in his amber eyes. _"Thank you,"_ is all his heart has to say, before giving Vanitas a brief hug. Once he's released, Vanitas himself falls into Sora's shadow, content to rest after his grueling battle.  
      
    Now alone in his own heart save for the sleeping old man at his feet, Sora stared at him, contemplating for a long while. With a grunt, he squatted down and hooked his hands under Xehanort's armpits, dragging him towards the secret place on the island. It took him a while, but Sora finally had him right where he wanted him: propped up against where the door to Destiny Isles' heart _would_ be, if this were the real place. Instead, a shimmering white door is there, not unlike the door to Kingdom Hearts he'd closed those years ago.  
  
    The boy's heart intrinsically knew what lay behind that door; something Xehanort could _never_ defeat, he was sure of it now. Whether Xehanort woke up and opened it, or woke up and fled his heart entirely, Sora knew he was safe. He walked back out onto the beach of his heart, staring at the now peaceful blue waves. He took a moment to breathe in the familiar smell of salt and seaweed, the soothing rock of the waves against his ears, and the warm sand between his toes. However long he stood there, the boy couldn't be sure, but soon enough his heart was at peace.  
      
    Sora then woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay on this one! Real life is a bitch that way. On the bright side, chapters from here on out should be meatier in content and detail now that the ball is really rollin'! I'm gonna shoot for once a week at this point, just to balance real life priorities and writing.
> 
> What will Sora do when he wakes up? How will he cope with the damage done to his heart; if there even is any major damage? What will Xehanort's lingering presence in Sora's heart do to him? Will Riku ever stop being rude to Lea?


	8. Lea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora wakes up from his slumber.

    Night had fallen quite a while ago when Sora finally pried his eyes open again. He felt groggy, sweaty, and all around kinda gross. He groaned softly, rolling his ankles and stretching his wrists, working out every stiff joint under his covers before he finally kicked his blanket clean off the bed. He got up, feet landing silently on his blanket. A look around told him he's still in the Mysterious Tower - _and Riku's here!_  
      
    Any worry that might've lingered in Sora's head was immediately cleared. If Riku was here - _sleeping, at that!_ \- things must be okay. It only made _sense._ A cursory glance at his childhood friend told him that Riku definitely needed that rest, so Sora made the wise decision to let him sleep without interruption. The door to their room was standing wide open which he thought was strange, but none of that mattered quite as much as getting himself a _shower._ He knew that a mysterious bathroom appeared in the mysterious tower when Yen Sid summoned them for their mysterious test. He was pretty sure it was downstairs . . .  
      
    Sora quietly snuck out of the fairies' room, not wanting to wake Riku, and he froze when he noticed another presence in the room - Master Yen Sid himself was sitting at his desk, eyes closed and softly snoring. It seemed pretty weird, the way he slept while in the same exact position he was always in, but Sora learned pretty quickly to not question him or his mannerisms anymore.  
      
    Keeping up his quiet streak, Sora made his way down the stairs, through some of the twisting hallways, being careful on his way down not to go too quickly - his legs were sore and his stomach ready to do flips at any moment. Speaking of said stomach, it snarled angrily at him by the time he reached the bottom floor, and now he had the hardest decision he'd ever encountered in his _life:_ food, or shower? _Decisions, decisions._ Sora's arms crossed, one crooked hand reaching up to his chin to brush it in thought.  
      
    "Good evening, _Superior."_ The smooth, familiar voice coming from seemingly nowhere has Sora jolt, turning around rapidly with a moment of instinctual fear only to be met with -  
      
     _"Axel!"_ A flurry of emotions sped through Sora's heterochromic eyes. First fear - his heart couldn't quite forget his first meeting with Axel in Castle Oblivion - then sadness. Roxas' heart thrummed with longing, close enough to touch his best friend again, to hug him, but unable to escape the warmth of Sora's heart to reach him. Finally, Sora recognized and registered last - _a friend!_ Then, a tilt of his head, _"'Superior?'_ What's that mean?" One more thought hit Sora like a truck, and before Lea has a chance to respond the kid's leapt on him and yanked him into a hug of his own. "You're okay! How are you okay?"  
      
    Lea's expression was actually quite harsh at first, as aloof yet analytical as he was when doing business. He scanned every reaction in Sora, seeing if they were natural for him - or Roxas. Before he's made a judgment call Sora's clung to him tight, and it melts Lea's newly returned heart. It's _Sora,_ he's sure of it. Eventually those young eyes turn up to Lea's face, and he starts - _amber_. A somber reminder that Sora is here, but so is _someone else._   
      
    "I should be asking you that, Sora. You really gave us a scare." Lea decides to abandon the 'superior' question, figuring that Sora didn't need to know he was testing for Xehanort's reaction . . . _yet._ Cautiously Lea's hands came to rest on Sora's shoulders, and the boy breaks the hug to take a step back and look up at Lea's face while talking to him.  
      
    "What do you mean?" Sora's tilted his head again, almost indignant; offended that Axel has yet to tell him how he managed to survive, which was clearly the most important matter - followed closely by getting food and a shower.  
      
    "You've been asleep for days! Everyone was afraid you'd -"  
      
    "I was supposed to be asleep. Riku and I were taking our Mark of Mastery exam in the Realm of Sleep."  
      
     _"Yes,_ but - " Lea sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Look, what's the last thing you remember? About your exam?"  
      
    Now that had Sora _floored._ He stared intensely at a speck on the floor as he tried to trace his memory backwards. He woke up moments ago, before that . . . He woke up _again,_ trying to find Riku. He was acting pretty strange then, sniffing his hair, oddly enough. He'd have to ask him about that. Before that, well . . . _Hm._ Backwards wasn't working, so he tried to follow the chain of memories starting from when he and Riku began the exam. They sealed the Sleeping Keyholes while visiting the Sleeping Worlds, and then - _The World That Never Was._ Lea almost made a comment on the way Sora's face went pale in a flash, beads of sweat starting to form at his forehead, his throat growing dry.  
      
    He remembered Xigbar, the mysterious boy - _Xehanort,_ he was Xehanort too. Surrounded by hooded figures, and then - **the nightmare.** This time Sora lets out a quiet, pained cry, slapping one hand over his amber-ocean eye, the other squinting with mental anguish.  
      
    "Hey, _hey,_ " Lea waved his hands in some vague gesture meant to tell Sora to calm down. "You're alright, you're safe now. Whatever happened is over." Lea's words were hardly any consolation, nor did they stop the flow of pain from Sora's heart into his head.  
      
    That young man, the sleep - second sleep, third sleep - falling, farther and farther . . . The nameless girl, Roxas, and the other boy who looked just like him - _the pain._ So much pain inside him he didn't understand, people he wanted to save but didn't know how . . . _My heart is a prison._  
      
    Tears streamed from Sora's blue exposed eye; they'd flow from his other if not for the intense pressure his palm was digging into it. _Riku and Kairi,_ just out of reach - two others he loved but did not remember. Running but not moving, struggling but not waking . . . Riku's voice, sounding through water to reach him but never quite touching. A loving light, followed by a monster's face - _him._ Ansem.   
      
    Lea started to truly panic - Sora had backed himself against a wall, shaking and crying and overall completely _losing it_. In the back of his mind he knew that if Riku saw this scene he'd lose his life to a keyblade through his spine. Sora started to make some noise, his sobs growing louder, and Lea knew he didn't want anyone else knowing he'd woken yet - he needed to talk to Sora before everyone else began guarding him like the precious thing he was.   
      
    In a desperate bid to get Sora to just _stop_ for a second, Lea's splayed palm slapped Sora across his face, causing him to gasp and flinch away. In that moment, when Lea saw that horror and pain in Sora's eyes, he'd felt an intense stab of guilt. No matter how bad Lea felt about it, though, it did at least silence him. Sora's hand lowered from his face, and he stared at Lea with big, far-away eyes. Tears blurred the vision of one eye, while gray static slowly seeped out of the other. A slender red starfish started to form on his cheek, and the last tear stung as it rolled down it.   
      
    Lea . . . didn't know what to say. 'Sorry' didn't seem right, but he didn't want to overwhelm Sora with any other information - not if _this_ was going to be his reaction. Obviously whatever Xehanort put him through was hellish, and that guilt spurned Lea even further. He stared at the kid dumbfounded for a long while, Sora himself just trying to calm down.   
      
    Idly Sora rubbed his stinging cheek, slowing his breath down the best he could, trying not to think too hard about what had happened. He looked down at his clothes, checking them over - an old, not as loose as they used to be, set of pyjamas, stripes of baby blue and white. Not a single cross, nothing even remotely resembling an _'x'_ . . . This is what finally calmed Sora down enough to realize that Lea hadn't spoken a word in quite a while.  
      
    "Hey, it's okay," Sora mimicked Lea's previous concern with a hoarse voice, "Sorry I freaked out a little bit."  
      
    The fact that after all this, Sora was trying to comfort him . . . Lea can't help but laugh, "More than a _little bit."_  
      
    Sora's smile reached his tired eyes. "Yeah, I guess you're right." One last sniffle and rub of his eyes and nose, and he turned towards the kitchen. "Food?"  
      
    "Right. Food is good."  
      
    Truthfully, Sora might've continued panicking if Lea hadn't been there, seemingly in need of help. It was always easier to push his own feelings back down to the depths of his heart where they belonged if someone else needed him to - if he had an _excuse_ to do it. His trauma successfully compartmentalized, Sora's quick to return to his lighthearted gait by the time they reach the kitchen doors.  
      
    The cutlery sensed them coming and, already aware that Sora was not fully well, prepared two bowls of warm miso soup. Sora was slightly disappointed he didn't have anything more solid, but if he'd learned anything in his stay at the Mysterious Tower, it was that Yen Sid's Kitchen knew best.   
      
    The two settle into comfortable silence sitting across from one another, Sora at first sipping his soup a little too quickly, and slowing down the second it hits his empty stomach. He really started to feel his own hollowness, weakness . . . His legs were aching from the climb down, and he was dreading having to go all the way back up. At least the warmth of the soup was comforting, and once his stomach got used to having content again, he was already feeling better.  
      
    Despite Sora's oddly cheerful demeanor, Lea still saw the flush on his face, the puffiness of his pink eyes. Slowly he's drawn back to that small flare of white at Sora's scalp, and the ominous amber poisoning one of his eyes. Lea was almost certain it _glowed_. Despite Sora staring into that warm red bowl, his eyes flicked up to Lea's, making the older man jump.  
      
    "Hey, Axel?" Sora put his bowl down slow, cautious. He licked his lips, tasting the words on them warily before finally releasing them, "What—Happened to me? What happened after my - _nightmare?_ Why was I sick? I think you know." Everything he said came out even, a little strained from stress, and towards the end his solid blue eye twitched to hold back another tear. His heart knew _exactly_ what had happened, but his mind still needed an explanation.  
      
    Sora's stare was unrelenting, and Lea felt like his heart was being pierced. He saw Roxas swimming in those eyes. He had so much he wanted to say, needed to say to the both of them. Sora was right here, ready to listen, yet Lea's throat ran dry. After a few silent attempts to reply, Lea swallowed hard and began his tale. "It's a long story.  
      
    "I kinda have to start from the beginning. I'm not Axel, to tell you the truth." That one got a tilt of Sora's head. "I'm Lea. I'm a human being again." Wide-eyed, Sora nodded along . . . "A few others from the Organization also came back, but - not any I cared about. Neither Roxas nor Isa were there . . . So I had no reason to be there, either." There was something in Sora's eyes, but Lea couldn't quite pin it. He still couldn't help but see his best friend staring back at him, listening like an eager student the same way he did those first few weeks of his existence. "For the sake of brevity, I'll skimp some of the details - I came here to learn to wield the keyblade."  
      
   _"You?"_  
      
    Axel snorted a laugh. "Yeah, me." He decides to let the sheer rudeness of Sora's tone slide - he'd already put him through a lot, he'd let him have this one. "Yen Sid took me on because he needed the help. They already found out that Xehanort was meddling with your exam, and they wanted any remote advantage they could get. I trained with Merlin in a place where time moved slower than most." Another confused look from the boy, "Yeah, yeah, I don't really know how that works either. I did a lot of . . . soul seeking, I guess? Meditation, that kind of thing, to see if my heart was worthy of wielding it."  
      
    "Was it?" Now Sora looked eager, hopeful for good news. Lea couldn't help himself, then.  
      
    "Come on, now. I'm saving the juicy bits for last." _Ah, there's that pout._ "There was a point in time when your body came back from the sleeping realm. You weren't where you were supposed to be." This garnered some recognition in Sora's eyes, and Lea began to tread his words carefully, not wanting to trigger another upset. "The King took off to find you, and Yen Sid came to me to let me know what was happening. He asked me to come help, and I -" Lea winced with pain, knowing that the following words would be more confession than story. "I agreed, and when Yen Sid left, I . . . _delayed_ leaving as well." Lea watched Sora cautiously, though he couldn't glance any new feelings beyond intrigue from him. "I still couldn't summon my keyblade, and I wanted to - to use it when I came to help. I thought I could squeeze in one last exercise - the world I was in wasn't bound by normal time, so I thought . . ." Lea sighed, unable to find any more excuses for himself. Sora still reserved judgment.  
      
    "I finally left that training world, and had to use a dark corridor to reach where I believed they put you. Fortunately, my guess was pretty educated. Unfortunately . . . " Lea took another deep breath, his speech slow, cautious, and incredibly deliberate. "I saw Xehanort aiming his keyblade at you."  
      
    "Me?"  
      
    "Yeah. You were asleep in a chair, in our old meeting room for the Organization."  
      
    "You mean the white one with the tall chairs?"  
      
    "Yeah, that - _Wait,_ how do you even know about that?" Lea leaned closer over the table, "Do you remember what happened?"  
      
    "No, I just . . . Remember the _place."_ Sora scratched his own chin with his index finger, before taking a wary look at Axel. "Roxas has been there, right?"  
      
    "Y . . . Yes, he has. Xehanort even put you in his old seat. Number 13 . . ." Sora finally stopped looking at Lea for a moment, staring at his cool, nearly empty bowl. In the other room, the cutlery sensed the need and began preparing seconds. After a moment, Sora looked back up at Lea, ready to hear more. Lea saw the signal. "Yen Sid explained it to me later, but he was - diving into your heart. He had already placed a part of himself inside of you prior to that." Oddly enough, Sora didn't seem all that shocked by that revelation . . . Lea continued, "I was going to leap up, to interrupt it, but I - I thought I needed my keyblade to stop him, so I . . . Waited."  
      
    Lea finally turned away from Sora, sticking his nose up in an oddly embarrassed way. "I tried to summon it, but -" Lea held out his hand, his wrist making a snappy movement while his hand was held casually open towards the ceiling. A moment passed. Then another. Fire burned around his hand after that pregnant pause, a keyblade not too unlike his old chakram formed in his fingers, a lick of flame pointing downward. "It didn't come fast enough. I leapt after Xehanort, but by then he already dove into your heart." Lea couldn't take it anymore, turning back to Sora and staring him dead in the eye when he whispers, "I'm sorry." His gaze immediately falls, his keyblade abandoning him and returning to the ether.  
      
    Sora was quiet, trying to come up with something to say. He didn't feel anger towards Lea at all, really - he did _try._ However, something else was brewing inside Sora. If Xehanort succeeded in diving . . . What happened to him? He was okay now, though, right? He was here in the tower, with Riku, wasn't everything finally okay? . . . _No._ Even Sora knew there was more to the story than that. "Continue," is all he has to say by the end of it. Lea nodded solemnly.  
      
    "Riku, uh . . . _Freaked out._ Rightfully so. He was being held down by Ansem, so I went to save him instead. I managed to get the guy off of him, and - a weird shooting star came down with Donald and Goofy in it?" Sora nodded, like that was somehow normal. "They came and helped Mickey, who was pinned against a wall by Xemnas. Then, _Isa -"_ Sora gave yet another look of failed recognition, so Lea corrected accordingly, "Saix . . . Saix was there, with them. He launched an attack on me, but by that point the other members of the new organization were starting to fade. Riku went straight for you, hoisting you up and just - _taking off._ Evidently getting you out of there was his top priority." Lea prodded Sora's expression for more information about Riku, and judging by that soft smile on Sora's face - _yeah, that's normal for them._ "There was another scuffle, and when it became clear that those who were left - only Saix, Xigbar, and uh . . . _You._ Once it became clear they weren't going to win that fight, the two of them backed off and fled. We were in no shape to pursue, since we were all pretty worried about what was going to happen to you, so we . . . Brought you here, to see if Yen Sid could have a look, maybe shed a little light."  
      
    "I see."  
      
    "You woke up that night, you know. Stumbled out of your bed and scared the daylights outta all of us."   
      
    "I remember . . . Kind of. It's all pretty hazy."  
      
    "I was pretty sure you were sleepwalking. You passed out pretty fast, though, and we got you back into bed and have been trying to keep you as healthy as we could until . . . Well, tonight."  
      
    Sora nodded again. "And Riku, he's okay? He had a bandage on his head, and I didn't want to wake up him." Lea was silently grateful for that.  
      
    "Yeah, just a nasty bump on the noggin. Yen Sid says he'll be fit for action again in another week. We got to the injury too late for a cure spell to heal it properly, so he's been sipping potions and suffering bedrest this entire time." Sora snickered; he knew how much Riku must've _hated_ that.  
      
    At that point, a dinner bell rang in the kitchen, and Sora popped right up. "Seconds!" Just like that he was back to that lighthearted bounce, bounding towards the kitchen to get his fill. Lea looked down at his own cold, untouched soup, and lazily lifted it with one hand to sip. His appetite was a little worse for wear. It amazed him that Sora didn't blame him for an instant, didn't hold an ounce of aggression in him . . . He had so thoroughly convinced himself that he was the _reason_ Xehanort had won, that it was _his_ fault all this was happening. Lea rested his head in his hand, elbow digging into the table as he let out a half sigh of relief, half exhausted chuckle. He watched Sora bound right back and plop down in his seat to enjoy the rest of his meal, though the fact that Sora was already panting and even a little sweaty again was not missed by Lea. He was still incredibly weak, and Lea had to remind himself that recovery was most likely going to be _slow._  
      
    There wasn't much else said between them at the table, Sora too eager to sip his soup to bother asking any more questions. Lea found it odd that Sora didn't ask if Xehanort was still inside him, or, well . . . _Anything_ to do with Xehanort. Did he already have those answers? Would it be okay for Lea to ask? He resigned himself to leaving that question unanswered. _Riku_ could pry that one out of him, he wasn't about to go opening Pandora's Box a second time tonight. Not when Sora seemed too pleased just to be awake, alive, and eating his fill. Feeling comfortable enough, Lea summoned some flames to help re-heat his soup as he drank it, earning a childlike _"Whoaaa,"_ from Sora across the table, as if he'd just witnessed the single most intelligent feat of his life.  
      
    Sora finished his second bowl right about when Lea finished his first. The kid stood up, stretched, then let out a loud, satisfied sigh. "It's good stuff, right?"  
      
    "Yeah, I never imagined the tools could cook better than I can."  
      
    Sora laughed _(how was he so okay with everything?)_ and turned on his heel. "Well, now that that's out of the way, I need a shower. You said I've been asleep for what, a week?"  
      
    "Just about, yeah."  
      
    "Yeah, I smell like a week's worth of _B.O."_ That got a snicker out of Lea, if only because he hadn't missed Riku's habit of sniffing Sora's hair every other second. He hoped the odor burned his nose every time.  
      
    "Well, lead the way then."  
      
    "You're not going to shower _with_ me." Sora stated it like it was so obvious that was what Lea wanted to do.  
      
    "What - _No!_ I know that. I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you."  
      
    Sora turned around to face Lea again, tilting his head like a curious pup. "Why?" Lea thought he saw that amber glowing again.  
      
    "To make sure you're - " he caught himself in the nick of time, "That you don't _pass out_ or anything while wandering around. You're not exactly better yet. I can see it."  
      
    Sora stretched his hands behind his head before letting them rest there, mulling over Lea's words. "Yeah, I guess so." With that he's turned around again, hands still behind his head as he walked down the hall towards the bathrooms. Lea let out an exasperated sigh before following behind him.  
      
    Lea got himself into a comfortable position leaning against the wall next to the bathroom door, crossed arms and head hanging low in thought. He heard the shower turn on and let the white noise of running water be his companion. With Sora doing . . . _okay_ so far, he knew that he'd have to wake up Riku eventually. He also knew Riku would be furious with him for not alerting him immediately, he was sure. How to go about this? He couldn't expect Sora to lie on his account, nor would he want him to . . . He also didn't expect any secrets between them, either. Roxas _despised_ secrets and he could only assume Sora did as well.   
      
    Lea sighed heavily. _Roxas . . ._ He almost lost him again. Even if Sora wasn't Roxas and Roxas wasn't Sora, he had an equal desire to protect the both of them. Idly he wondered if he'd ever see Roxas again. _You promised to always bring us back._ Yet here he was, letting his somebody romp around the place. A stray thought hit him: _if Sora succumbs to darkness, Roxas will return._ The thought was unwanted and disturbing, like the urge to push someone off a ledge once they approached it next to you. He shook his head to send it off. Sora was here, _alive,_ and he was going to stay that way. Maybe Lea could be friends with Sora the way Axel was friends with Roxas . . .  
      
     _. . . No._ That wasn't happening. He was a fun kid to be around, sure, but Sora wasn't Lea's _best friend_. Sora didn't spend any time with the organization, and while he didn't wish that upon him, he knew that it was a certain level of empathy Sora couldn't achieve. _Roxas_ could. Roxas could also empathize with being a "bad-turned-good" guy in the eyes of everyone else in this damn tower. He could tell how polite everyone was trying to be (except Riku, the little _prick_ ). However, he could also tell how difficult it was for them to get used to his presence. He always got a side-eyed glance from the king and his court, and even Yen Sid from time to time . . . The old wizard had informed him this path would be hard, and while he accepted that, it didn't make it any easier. Maybe they'd find a way to bring Roxas back. If not, then he'd just have to settle for the next best thing.  
      
    Sora, meanwhile, was plagued by thoughts of his own, after a while. At first the shower melted his thoughts away, soothing his muscle and freeing him of much of the grime that coated him. Tear stains rinsed down the drain as he got to work washing himself, scrubbing his hair, in general being more thorough than usual to make up for all the time spent unclean. However, the more he explored his own body, the more troubled he became. His chest felt heavy, and he had to confront what that convinced him of: **_Xehanort is still here._** That thought rung true in his head, resounding around his soul in a way that confirmed it with him. And . . . He wasn't exactly _disturbed_ by that, either. His heart had made the call, he could feel it; and if it was his decision to do so, well, it must've been at least _half_ decent.  
      
    Still, what would that mean? Obviously he wasn't doing anything in there. Would he _ever_ do anything? Would ghosts of his memories and emotions haunt him the way Roxas' did? Was it the collective weight of Roxas and Xehanort that caused his heart to feel strained this way, spread too thin? **_More._ **Was there more? Who else could be in there, and how? These were all quite far over Sora's head, and he decided enough was enough for now. Maybe Riku knew.  
      
    Once he'd stepped out of the shower he dried his body off first, wrapping a towel about his waist and using another to dry his hair by aggressively ruffling his hair with it. He went over to the vanity where both he and Riku had drawers for their own supplies (Riku insisting it was necessary due to Sora's habit of stealing his toothbrush when they were kids). He opened his drawer for his wide-toothed comb - despite how much he got teased about his hair, he _did_ brush it. It just . . . _Had ideas of its own,_ most of the time. He started to brush with one hand, using the towel to wipe down the mirror and - he drops both the towel and the comb when he sees his reflection. He practically slammed both hands onto the counter, leaning closer to the mirror. At first he fixated on his left eye . . . Split down the middle with amber and blue. Just seeing it caused his other eye to water. Leaning back, his eyes drifted up towards the roots of his hair. They were pale, contrasted heavily by the dark blonde midway through, and dark brown at the tips. _What was going on?_  
      
    Sora heard shouting just outside the bathroom, a familiar voice - _Riku!_  
      
     _"Where_ is he!?" Riku was snarling, furious - and he had his keyblade, Way to the Dawn, lifted above his head and aiming straight for Lea's throat. His free hand was outstretched towards Lea, helping him aim - he really did look like he was about to kill him. "Tell me where he is, _traitor!"_  
      
     _"Relax,"_ Lea hissed back, "Your bud's just having a wash -"  
      
    "Don't mock me!" Riku dashed at Lea, spearing his keyblade downward; Lea lifted his hands in a flinch towards his face, but his Eternal Flame appeared in the nick of time, deflecting the blow. Riku slid back, growl growing to a yell as he gets ready to -  
      
     _"Riku!?"_  
      
    Lea and Riku both snapped their heads towards the bathroom door, where Sora stood wide-eyed, staring at the both of them, towel wrapped around his waist to preserve his decency. His eyes drifted between the two of them, confused and concerned. "What's going on?"  
      
     _"Sora!"_ Riku dropped Way to the Dawn in an instant, Lea completely forgotten as he dove for his best friend, wrapping him up in the tightest bear hug he could. Sora wrapped one of his hands around Riku tight, the other desperately clutching his towel to keep it from falling down.   
      
    "H-Hey!"  
      
    Riku just held him tight like that, Sora on his toes as Riku damn near hoists him up. Lea stared at the both of them, an ounce of hatred flaring up at how callously Riku treated his life . . . _Never mind, they need this._ "Alright, lovebirds, I assume you can find your own way to your room." With that sarcastic remark Lea turned tail and made his leave, sauntering down the hallway to hide his temper.  
      
    Riku glared over his shoulder for a fraction of a moment before returning his attention to the pseudo-brunette in his arms. He lowers his head enough to sniff at his hair, checking for Ansem . . . Nothing but coconut shampoo. This only confirmed to Sora that he did remember that part correctly. "Why are you doing that?" he murmurs into Riku's shirt, face pressed firmly to his chest.  
      
    "I can smell darkness, and I'm very . . . familiar with Ansem's - with _Xehanort's._ " In that instant Sora understood. He made a grunt of understanding, and then waited there patiently while Riku still clung tight, shifting them slightly from time to time.  
      
    While they both basked in their moment, Sora finally broke it, prying his head out from Riku's chest just enough to look up at him and ask, "You done yet?"  
      
    Sora didn't like that devious grin on Riku's face. "No, I think I could go for another hour or two." With that the aggressive noogies began, Riku pushing Sora down some to get him in a more manageable position. It was usually a big wrestle between the two when it came to escaping hugs, so Riku was prepared to hold on tight . . . but keeping Sora there was pretty easy this time. Not for a lack of trying - Sora squirmed and pushed against him, he just . . . Didn't have any weight behind his struggling. They both noticed it, both knew why - _Xehanort made him weak._  
      
    Riku released Sora reluctantly, watching his friend carefully to see how he felt. Sora was pretty disappointed; he always enjoyed a good wrestle with Riku, even if he didn't win most of the time. Sora sighed before reaching down, picking up the towel that fell during the scuffle and re-wrapping it about his waist. They'd known each other long enough to have seen each other in every state of undress imaginable; neither were phased.  
      
    "You think Yen Sid had more than one set of pyjamas waiting for me?" He really should have thought of that _before_ taking his shower.  
      
    "Yeah, actually. Up in the room we're sharing. Come on." Riku put a gentle hand behind Sora, guiding him towards the stairs with a faint touch before letting his hand fall back to his side once they were both on their way.  
      
    It only took one flight of stairs for Sora to be completely winded - he put a hand on Riku's shoulder, a silent plea for them to slow down. They waited for a moment for Sora to catch his breath. Sora was the one to cut that moment short; he was still exhausted when he said, "Okay, I'm ready."  
      
    Riku wouldn't stand for it. He immediately slid his arm around Sora's shoulder, supporting him as they climbed at a much slower pace. Sora hated it - not Riku holding onto him, just that stairs were _too much_ for him to handle. He didn't like feeling this weak. ** _Like the keyblade would choose a wimp like you._ **Xigbar's voice echoed in his mind and he huffed out a heavy breath when he and Riku finally reach the top. "Thanks," his voice subdued and embarrassed. Riku gave him an encouraging nod. Neither of them decided to wake Yen Sid (was he even sleeping?) as they snuck past him, back to their room.  
      
    Sora made slow work of getting himself dressed in another set of pyjamas hidden under his bed; he remembered stashing these ones on the Gummi Ship at some point. Sora took a seat on his bed, crossing his legs and holding his chin with a loose fist.  
  
    "Not ready to sleep yet?" Riku's voice was equally teasing and concerned. Sora laughed awkwardly.  
      
    "Yeah, the thought of sleeping right now is . . . _Kinda_ scary." Even though he was exhausted. His voice was uncharacteristically shy, "It kinda feels like I might not wake up again, you know?"   
      
    Riku nodded in a shocking amount of understanding. "Don't worry, Sora." Now it was Riku's turn to be sheepish. "Did you know _I'm_ your Dream Eater?"  
      
    Now this really got Sora's head to turn. "You don't look neon enough for that," he quipped back, playing with him while simultaneously asking for answers.  
      
    "Yeah, I was shocked to find out myself. Still, it's true." He gave Sora a confident nod, "I'll make sure nothing will happen to you this time. I promise. _I'm what nightmares fear,"_ he grinned, evidently his favorite line he needed Sora to hear. Sora snorted out a laugh in return, this time - he could be so _cheesy_ while still being _cool._ He did remember that declaration during his nightmare, faded as the sound was . . . but he wanted to make sure he knew it. _Typical Riku._  
      
    "Alright, Mister _Scary-Dream-Eater,_ I now know I'm in capable hands."  
      
    "Good, because you _are."_ Even if they were teasing and toying, Riku took the compliment to heart; at least it seemed that way given the slight tint of pink on his cheeks. They shared a comfortable silence for a moment before Riku continued, "Hey, Sora?"  
      
    "Yeah?"  
      
    "Once my head gets better," he pointed towards the bandages on his skull, "I'll be well enough to dive into your heart."  
      
    "You can _do that!?"_ That did _not_ sound like a Dream Eater's power. Riku nodded.  
      
    "The Power of Waking . . . Yen Sid told me a little more about it while you were sleeping. I can use it to dive into your heart while you sleep . . ." Softer, now, "I could check to see if Xehanort is still -"  
      
    "He's still there," Sora interrupted him curtly. The silence between them became uncomfortable for that painful moment. "I can feel him in my heart, sleeping, but . . . He's still _there."_  
      
     _"Sora -"_  
      
    "He's still there because my heart wanted him to be there."  
      
    The boys sat in silence for what felt like ages. Riku didn't understand - how was Sora even remotely okay right now if he knew that? "Why . . . Did your heart want him there?" Darker now, "I know how much he can tempt someone, but you have to resist him. He only wants to use you for his own gains."  
      
    "I _know_ that," Sora damn near whined, "but . . . That's the choice my heart made." He rested his hand over his chest gingerly, "I can feel it."  
      
    Another thoughtful pause. "I'd still like to check, when I've recovered - just to make sure he can't hurt you."  
      
    Something in Sora _screamed_ for him not to give Riku that permission. It was - strange. Sora would trust Riku with his life, so of course he'd trust him with his heart, as well . . . Perhaps it was Xehanort's influence, if he had any, that made him wary of Riku. Sora wouldn't _stand_ for that.  
      
    "Okay, Riku," he finally nodded, much to his relief. "I trust you."  
      
    Riku hummed with approval, and Sora decided that was enough for one night. Thoroughly exhausted and comforted by the thought of Riku being ready to consume any nightmares that may come to him, Sora slid underneath his covers to get comfortable, snuggling into the blanket as he bundled it close to his chest, sleeping on his side.  
      
    Riku was glad to see Sora finally sleeping like normal, even if he knew he'd have to excise Xehanort as soon as possible. Sora's heart may have thought it knew what it was doing, but _Riku knew Xehanort better._  
    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, this one took a lot out of me to write! I hope you all like it! I've got a very clear picture of where the rest of this work is going to go, and I'm so excited to share it with you! It was a blast finally being able to write Sora (and not the metaphorical heart-Sora, too).
> 
> Also, Chapter EIGHT, LEA/AXEL? It genuinely wasn't intentional, and I only noticed while double-checking some things stated in this chapter on the wiki! It's pretty funny considering upcoming chapters were titled with the chapter number in mind, while this one was pure happenstance.
> 
> Now that Sora's awake, and our guardians of light are aware Xehanort is harbored within him, what will they decide to do? Will Sora continue to handle himself, or will he succumb to trauma again? Just how much can one heart take?


	9. Kairi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora's recovery continues its slow pace; another dear friend comes to the tower to train.

  
      Fortunately for the two boys, no nightmares came to Sora and they both slept better than the dead. Sora woke up first, immediately relieved that he woke up at all, stretching his muscles and rolling his ankles and wrists under the covers before haphazardly kicking his blanket off once more. It's the sound of that blanket ruffling to the floor that finally stirred Riku; when he pried his tired eyes open, he immediately rolled them at what he saw.  
  
      "Do you ever change, Sora?"  
  
      "Nope!" He chirped cheekily, rolling onto his back on the bed before launching his legs forward to roll onto his feet. This shook up his bloodstream a little too much, and he stumbled a little too far forward on landing. A sway backward for balance, and finally he's some kind of steady. Riku propped a brow, slowly getting up while plucking a potion from his drawer.  
  
      "You're still recovering. Did you forget?"  
  
      There's a pause, Sora wanting to sass him back, but he eventually conceded: "I was kinda hoping I'd be better by now."  
  
      "You've been awake for _one_ day, Sora."  
  
      "And asleep for _seven!"_ he suddenly sniped back, shocking both Riku and himself. They shared a stare for a moment before both awkwardly looking away. Sora murmured an embarrassed, _"Sorry..."_ which Riku mimicked back.  
  
      "What're you apologizing to me for?" Sora caught Riku trying to come up with a legitimate answer, and he stepped right up to him (still a little shaky), "You ought to apologize to _Axel_ , if you're going to apologize to anyone." Now _this_ shocked Riku. He didn't think Sora noticed, with how quickly he brushed off their altercation last night. Riku's mouth flapped haplessly for a moment before he finally came up with a retort.  
  
      "He came here swearing he'd changed his ways, and then he let you get - _He let you - !"_ Sora watched with a harsh scrutiny as Riku quickly lost his composure, moving his hands in distress - Sora caught both his wrists, staring him down with an authority Riku rarely saw from his lighthearted friend.  
  
     "It was an accident."  
  
     "How do you know that!?" There was no doubt in Riku's tone; Sora trusted others too much, "He could still be working with them!" It all made sense in Riku's head; the Organization wasn't friendly with Maleficent, so Lea's stunt saving Minnie from her didn't prove any disloyalty to them. It'd make sense for Xehanort to want a backup on their side, should anything go awry with his plans. Lea was in the perfect position to sabotage Sora, to coax him towards darkness if he so chose . . . Doing so might bring back his precious _Roxas,_ after all. Riku almost spat the name within his thoughts. His face contorted with fear and anger, the teen getting more and more carried away in his own head until he felt Sora's grip on his wrists tighten to an almost painful degree. Once Riku looked back at him - actually _looked_ at him, instead of vaguely staring - Sora let up his grip, and spoke slow, deliberate.  
  
     "He gave his life as a nobody to save me instead of letting me fall to darkness to let Roxas return."  
  
     Riku blinked. _"What?"_ Guilt swam into his conscience with that statement, and Sora's offended eyes boring into him only made it come faster.  
  
     "In the portal from Twilight Town to The World That Never Was," Sora started, releasing Riku's wrists once he was certain he had the other boy's attention. "There were hundreds of nobodies in there, and Axel came to help me fight them. It felt like they were never going to end, and maybe we could've taken them with enough time, but . . . He knew the Organization had Kairi." Part of Riku wanted to chime in that they only had her because Axel brought her into this, but the other part was still sinking into that pit of guilt with the implications of Sora's words. "We didn't have time to take out all of those nobodies _and_ save her, so he - put his entire being into an attack. He destroyed the other nobodies, and he fell soon after." Sora shrunk away from Riku, not able to look at him fully - "He said I made him feel like he had a heart."  
  
     This broke into Riku enough to pull a troubled sigh. He was doing everything in his power to remain stubborn, to stick to his gut intuition that Lea was not to be trusted, but . . . He saw the pain in Sora's heart splayed plainly across his face. Again, he wanted to bring up that such erratic behavior arguably made it _harder_ to trust him, but he just didn't have the heart to do it. Not when Sora seemed so upset by all of this.  
  
     "I . . . I'll talk to him," Riku finally conceded, rubbing the back of his neck, cheeks turning a faint hue of _embarrassed._ Sora faced him again and gave him a muted smile that didn't reach his eyes - those now heterochromic eyes that made Riku afraid he'd never see their perfect blue again. Riku finally drank the potion that was being clutched tight in his hand - he needed to recover as soon as possible to see if he could get Sora's heart back, his eyes back, his _smile_ back. Riku needed all of these things like one needed water, or air.  
  
     The two shared an uneasy silence before Sora headed into the nextdoor room, Yen Sid bidding him good morning, following it with many calm questions; 'How are you feeling?' 'Do you feel overly hungry, thirsty? Weak? Tired?' Riku partially tuned them out, knowing the answers to many of these questions already - but one stuck out to him.  
  
     "Is your heart telling you anything right now, Sora?" Riku's head perked up, watching Sora closely as his best friend placed his hand over his chest, closed his eyes, and hummed with thought. Sora's brows furrowed, his lips tensing and relaxing as various emotions passed through his face. Fear, pain, anger, sadness . . . and finally contentment.  
  
     "My heart feels heavy," Sora finally concluded, "Like something's pulling it down, making it hard to keep itself going."  
  
     Yen Sid was slow to respond. "It is possible that Xehanort still resides within you; having such a dark presence in your heart could be causing such mental and physical strain." _You don't know the half of it_ , Riku bitterly thought to himself.  
  
     "It's not possible," Sora corrected, "It's _true._ He's here." He clutched the fabric of his shirt over his chest tightly, sighing after a deep breath. "My heart . . . _Let_ him stay. It feels right, somehow, and wrong at the same time."  
  
     If Riku didn't know any better, he'd think Yen Sid _growled_ instead of sighed. The old wizard closed his eyes, stroking his beard not necessarily in thought but seemingly as a way to self soothe. He obviously felt similarly if not the same as Riku when it came to this news. "You shouldn't leave this tower until we can get to the bottom of this," Yen Sid concluded after a painfully long silence. Sora opened his mouth to retort but something seemed to catch in his throat, and he went quiet.  
  
     "Yes, Master Yen Sid," he finally agreed, much to Riku's relief. There wasn't too much in this tower that would trigger a reaction from Xehanort's heart; if Sora went out to any other worlds, well, who knows what that old man has seen. Not to mention the fact that Sora was still a little bit sickly, even if he had recovered a great deal in just one day alone. Riku remained vigilantly cautious.  
  
      They all stood in uneasy silence until a familiar sound echoed from outside - all turned their heads to the window to see the Gummi Ship entering orbit. Lea's brows propped up from his corner, the man being pointedly silent and out-of-the-way with Riku in the room, Sora tilted his head wondering who was flying his ship, and Yen Sid hummed with approval.  
  
     "Looks like Mickey's back," Riku said as a reluctant smile touched his lips. He was happy to see his friend, less happy at how long it took him to return. _What was he up to?_  
  
     "Where did the king go?" Sora piped up, only for Riku to promptly take his hand and guide him along.  
  
     "C'mon, let's see for ourselves." That grin Riku wore told Sora it was good news landing on their doorstep, so he couldn't complain. The two hurried down the stairs (that is, until Sora lost his breath, after which they _walked_ down the stairs), and opened up the grand doors to the Mysterious Tower when they reached the bottom.  
  
     Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had already hopped out of the Gummi Ship. Riku and Sora stepped out of the tower just as _Kairi_ descended from the ship, a glum expression on her face until she locked eyes with Sora. A loud cry of his name from her and Sora immediately bounded towards her. Donald and Goofy noticed next just what was wrong with this picture, and when Sora and Kairi clamped their arms around each other in a tight hug, the two crowded around them, Goofy eventually wrapping his long arms around both Sora and Kairi, while Donald angrily tried to cram himself in between the three of them.  
  
     Sora and Kairi didn't share any words at first, content just to bask in the presence of one another. Kairi gave Riku a sidelong glance that asked, _'What happened to him?'_ Riku nodded in understanding, knowing he'd have to fill her later. No matter how perceptive Kairi had always been, there was no way to gleam all the details of Sora's condition from his appearance alone.   
  
     _"Gawrsh,_ Sora," Goofy finally broke the silence, "You're awake! You sure gave us a scare."  
  
     "Don't you ever do that again!" came the nagging squawks from Donald. Sora and Kairi both giggled before finally breaking that desperate hug, content to know that _no, we aren't being separated again any time soon._   
  
     If Sora wasn't so exhausted from climbing down those stairs and then bolting towards Kairi, he might've sassed Donald back - instead, he conceded a simple, "I won't, I won't."  
  
     "Yeah, he won't," Kairi turned a knowing and playful glare towards Sora, "'Cause I'll make him regret it if he does!" Sora laughed while his cheeks were tickled pink, rubbing the back of his neck. Did the king fill her in on their trip? Or did she just know him that well? Probably both.  
  
     Riku slowly walked up to his two friends before being interrupted by a soft, "Riku?" The teen turned to the king with a propped brow. "Can I have a word with you in private?" Despite the jovial attitudes of just about everyone, King Mickey looked almost pensive. Sensing the mood, the others turned to face Riku and Mickey - Riku gave Sora a guilty look, before returning his attention to the king. Mickey stepped closer to him, "I wouldn't drag you apart if it wasn't important."  
  
     "Don't seem so worried, Riku," Kairi said, slinging an arm around Sora's shoulder. "I can keep him out of trouble." Kairi had that confident, competitive smirk so often seen on her two friend's faces when racing down the shore or sparring. Sora's cheeks flared up further, the boy considering fussing about his treatment but quickly finding himself too exhausted to particularly care. _My friends are here, there's nothing worth complaining about._  
  
     A pang of jealousy ran across Riku's face, but he nodded once it passed. The king took Riku's hand and led him back into the tower, leaving Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy to themselves. Kairi in turn led Sora over to the steps leading to the entrance of the tower and sat herself down on them, Sora following suit. Donald and Goofy laid down on the soft grass, eyes up towards the cosmos above them. For a while they just sat, content with their peace, before Kairi finally broke the silence.

     "So, you gonna fill me in on _this_ business?" She asked, tugging on a lock of Sora's hair. "I know you didn't dye it. This is too clean of a job for you to pull off." Her smile was playful, but while Sora smiled back his own was worried and it wasn't hard to see.   
  
      "I, uh, well . . ." Where could he even start? "Do you remember Ansem? The one who plunged Destiny Islands into darkness." Dread crept up Sora's throat - but not the same kind that plagued him these past few weeks. Not the dread that meant something serious and life-changing was coming; no, it was a playful feeling, knowing that he was soon going to get an earful from a friend.  
  
     "Vaguely, yeah." After Namine's meddling, Kairi's memories of that time were all a little hazy, though they did return piecemeal; especially when she spent time with Sora.  
  
     "Well, he was a heartless - the heartless of this guy named Xehanort." Kairi gave a nod. "And . . . When you kill someone's heartless and nobody - _Oh!_ Xemnas was his nobody, by the way. When you kill both of those, the original person comes back."  
  
     "So by defeating Ansem and Xemnas, you brought the original problem back?" Kairi looked irritated - after all, they'd worked so hard for peace, only for this same guy to just keep coming back, again and again. When, exactly, would they get their childhood back? They were rapidly running out of time.  
  
     "Yeah. So Yen Sid wanted me and Riku to take the Mark of Mastery exam to become Keyblade Masters so we could stand a chance against Xehanort."  
  
     Kairi's eyes lit up, "That explains part of this . . ."  
  
     "Part of what?"  
  
     "When the King came to pick me up. He said Yen Sid was gathering new keyblade wielders, and he wanted me to come to his tower to train."  
  
     Sora's face shone bright as the sun, that carefree smile from their childhood. How long had it been since she'd seen that look? "You mean you're gonna be training with us?"  
  
     "Mmhm. Pretty soon I'm gonna be kicking your butt! And Riku's too," Kairi stuck out her tongue playfully. Sora's smile melted into that competitive smirk, eyes full of affection, that same way he looked whenever he competed with Riku, too.  
  
     "Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try!"   
  
     They both melted into a fit of giggles. Donald and Goofy seemed to notice something the younger two didn't, getting up and heading inside to give the two space, Goofy in particular having a gleeful grin on his face.  
  
     Sora and Kairi basked in that peaceful moment of laughter that eventually turned to a pleasant silence. Sora stared up at the stars and Kairi in turn watched his face. Those beautiful blue eyes, with that diseased orange fighting for some turf in them. Despite that plague weighing on that once weightless face, Kairi still felt lighter for every second she got to see it.  
  
     "So," she finally started, Sora's smile immediately vanishing as he knew exactly what they still needed to talk about, "That still didn't explain everything."  
  
     "Yeah," Sora sighed, laying back and shifting his position to make himself comfortable. He still wouldn't look at Kairi, despite her eyes perfectly tracked onto him. "Riku and I took our Mark of Mastery exam in the realm of sleep, to unlock the Power of Waking."  
  
     _"Which is?"_  
  
     A pause and a laugh, "I'm still not really sure. It's supposed to help us beat Xehanort, and - wake up sleeping worlds. Whatever that means."  
  
     "Crazy magic stuff. Got it." These things were finally starting to roll off her back - this was their lives now.  
  
     "I, um," another deep breath and a sigh to brace himself, "I failed that test." Before he could let the shame cover his whole face, Sora started back up: "Riku passed, though! He's a keyblade master now!" That seemed to lift up Sora's mood, even if Kairi knew it was just to distract from the pain he was feeling. She still waited patiently for him to continue, understanding what kind of blow to his pride that must've been. "Anyhow. Xehanort interrupted my exam, and tried to plunge me somewhere 'deeper than the realm of darkness or sleep' . . . whatever that means."

     Despite Sora's joking words, neither his tone nor Kairi thought it was very funny. She could see his eyes swell ever so slightly, but refused to react to it. He deserved that much dignity, at least. When the halt in their conversation became unbearable, Kairi finally decided to end it: "That's why you look like that now?"

     "Mmhm." Sora gave a small nod; not one of agreement, but a polite nod of thanks. He knew she wasn't pushing the issue as much as she wanted to, and he couldn't be more grateful for it.

     Kairi sighed. Some things just weren't easy to talk about, which she understood. She'd just have to see if she could pry the answers out of Riku in Sora's stead, despite it normally being the other way around. Kairi shifted her shoulders and laid onto her back. For a few more minutes they just laid there together in silence, drawing what peace they could from the others' company, knowing that it'd never last.

     The breeze sang in the blades of grass near their ears, lulling Kairi into a state of almost-sleep. Despite her dulled senses she still felt Sora stirring, sitting up and standing - and a sudden jolt of pain on her abdomen snapped her out of it. Her eyes flew open to the sight of frosted brown hair (was it more caramel now?) poking up and almost into her nose. Sora was heaving, shuddering against her body, and finally Kairi realized what's happened.

     "Hey, hey, _hey,"_ she cooed, shifting out from under him, putting on her calmest face she could despite her own pain. Careful not to move Sora's head too much, she crossed her legs underneath it, supporting him in her lap while staring down into that suddenly pale face of his. "It's alright, I'm _here._ How are you feeling?"

     It takes a couple deep breaths for Sora to open his eyes and attempt a reply - _"Dizzy,_ but . . . I think I'll be okay." He tried to give her a reassuring smile; neither of them believed it.   
  
      "You stay here, then. I'll get you some water."

     Sora shuddered, but he couldn't argue with that plan. Gently Kairi laid his head onto the grass, before retreating into the tower. The kitchen was on the bottom floor (if said tower even _had_ one, given its tendency towards changing size and layout) so it shouldn't have taken her too long to go there and back.

      Unfortunately, it seemed that _any_ amount of time would've been too long; a piercing headache pounded against Sora as if two rusted nails were being hammered into his temples. His chest plunged inward in a painful convulsion. He could hear a distant rumble - or was it close? He pried his eyes open, only to see a blur of purple and black, shadows and tendrils opening up before him - and a silhouette emerging from it. A dark yet carefree voice resounded sending shivers of dread up and down Sora's spine despite almost every word being unclear save for the last few:

". . . thought hiding out here would work? _As if!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PHEW, that was a bit of a hiatus! I am so sorry for the delay in the update folks, my life has been positively flipped upside down these past few months. Couple that with this chapter sort of being a "transition" for the story; the (brief) calm before the real storm begins, consequently being a chapter I wasn't too enthused to write. It will be worth it for the chapters to come, however!
> 
> I can't guarantee any specific update schedule from here on out I'm afraid, simply because my life's gotten too hectic to actually have regular times to write! I'm /hoping/ for once a week, but it will most likely be every two weeks. We will see!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is my first time writing a KH fic AND my first time posting to Ao3! I've already got several chapters drafted and plan on posting daily if I can keep up the pace. I've taken a 1+ year break from writing, so I'm sorry for any grammar slip ups!


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